Have you ever wanted to go clamming? Last weekend my husband and I went for the first time since we've lived in Alaska. It's a lot of hard work, but it was fun. Fun as long as you don't get too many, because boy, are they a pain to clean.
The razor clams we can get here are really large. We were on a beach at Ninilchik, which is on the Kenai Peninsula, a couple of hours south of Anchorage. You can use a clam shovel or a clam gun(a big tube you push down into the sand, cover a hole in the gun to create a suction, and lift back up to remove the sand). You walk on the beach during low tide, and look for little "dimples" where the clams have been. You then either dig with the shovel or use the gun. The problem is that these clams are fast. If you're using the shovel, you can then be down on your knees, and literally up to your elbows digging down for them. We had one shovel and one gun. The gun hurt my back and took a lot of strength, so my husband used that. The shovel was too difficult to use, so my job became to spot the dimple, then call to my husband who then used the gun. Made my work a lot easier.
I won't go too much into detail about the cleaning process, or you just might not want to eat those clams next time you order them. Let's just say it involves dipping the live clams to boiling water to remove the shells(they do die quickly), then taking a pair of scizzors, cutting out the guts, etc. Enough said.
We wanted to try fried clams, as that's most people's favorite way to eat them. First, I haven't deep-fried anything in probably 20 years. I can't stand the way it leaves the house smelling. I rolled the clams in flour first, then beaten egg, then half I rolled in cornmeal and half in Panko. I definately liked the panko better. The clams were very tender (you can only fry them 30 seconds to a minute on each side, or they get very tough). But the clam flavor was very faint. Mainly what I tasted was the fried batter. I froze part of them to make clam chowder from, so I'll let you know how that turns out later.
Comments (8)
These looks big, Cindy. How fun clamming and eat fresh clams!
Posted by candi | August 7, 2009 11:33 AM
Posted on August 7, 2009 11:33
That really looks like a lot of work! I guess it's good exercise, though, so you deserved to eat the clams!
Posted by nancyhol | August 7, 2009 3:10 PM
Posted on August 7, 2009 15:10
Huge clams. There were people out clamming when we were in Maine - despite huge signs warning that it was dangerous to eat them because of the red bloom algae.
Panko is certainly the way to go - what DO they put in that stuff?
Posted by Jerry | August 9, 2009 3:58 AM
Posted on August 9, 2009 03:58
Fried razor clam poor boys, need I say more?
Posted by climbhighak | August 14, 2009 1:21 PM
Posted on August 14, 2009 13:21
oh my, they are huge! The razor clams I frequently saw in my local markets are... in fact just like the traditional men's razors! At a glance... I thought you caught geoducks :-P
I would love to try clam catching one day :-D besides all the hard work, I think it's a great excuse to waddle in the mud like we used to when kids!
The only mollusks I can find in Belgian Coast are mussels and my family ate them only at certain months with the 'Rs'. The other months probably spawning time for the mollusks. Back in Southeast Asia, I would soak the clams in salt water for certain time for them to purge impurities (in Belgium, milk is used instead) then it's either quick stir-fry, steam with wine (like drunken prawns) or curry.
You sure have interesting food going on in Alaska...I'm KIV your blog. Thank you for sharing ;-)
Posted by pixen | August 15, 2009 5:48 AM
Posted on August 15, 2009 05:48
Missed these clams, they have become one of the popular ingredients for our winter hot pot.
Probably yours are bigger, thanks for the pic.
Posted by TasteHongKong | August 15, 2009 8:27 AM
Posted on August 15, 2009 08:27
Yea, those look perfect for a bun with lettuce, tomato, and mayo.
Posted by ghweiss | August 15, 2009 9:51 AM
Posted on August 15, 2009 09:51
Huge! I didn't realize they were so big. I went clamming once while living north of Seattle. It was a lot of work for only a few clams. I bought them at the store after that :)
Posted by girasoli | August 22, 2009 9:05 PM
Posted on August 22, 2009 21:05